A Winning Sauvignon Blanc "NOT" From Down Under

If I encountered the 2011 Errazuriz Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc in a blind tasting, I would probably swear on a stack of Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bibles that the vintage hailed from New Zealand. Yes, it definitely possesses enough citrusy muscle to be indigenous to that “land down under.”

But, au contraire, this particular Sauvignon Blanc was produced in Chile; specifically in a single vineyard located in the Casablanca Valley just a few miles from the Pacific. And those moderate temperatures and cool sea breezes are undoubtedly responsible for this wine’s intense flavors and remarkable acidity.

This is a wine brimming with exuberant elegance. The beautiful straw yellow color is but a harbinger of the good things to come. The nose is extraordinarily pungent, rife with hints of fresh fruit and distinctive herbal & mineral overtones. These characteristics, of course, are carried over onto the palate, along with a crisp, refreshing grapefruit-y acidity and that unique “love it/hate it” spicy-tart flavor euphemistically known as “gooseberry”; or, more colloquially, “cat pee.” The finish is well defined, long and lingering.

If you enjoy the palate-pleasing pleasures of an unabashedly assertive Sauvignon Blanc, the 2011 Errazuriz Single Vineyard is a must try… and a relative bargain priced in the $15.00 range.